In order to perform addition of the electric charges obtained from adjacent pixels in the same sensor row with a multiplexing structure type of solid-state image pick-up apparatus, a solid-state image pick-up apparatus of the present invention comprises: a first CCD register 10 that transfers electric charges acquired by a first light-receiving pixel row; a second CCD register 20 that transfers electric charges acquired by a second light-receiving pixel row; a multiplex section 30 that transfers the respective electric charges, transferred by the first CCD register 10 and second CCD register 20 toward a floating diffusion amplifier FD; and signal generator 3 that in the case of alternately-output mode, applies signals in opposite phase to each other to a final stage of the first CCD register 10 and a final stage of the second CCD register 20, respectively, and, in the case of an add-and-output mode, applies to the final stage of the second CCD register 20 a signal for accumulating the electric charge until a transfer time when the electric charges to be added to each other are transferred by the second CCD register 20 comes.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A solid-state image pick-up apparatus comprising: a first charge transfer row for transferring electric charges acquired by a first light-receiving pixel row; a second charge transfer row for transferring electric charges acquired by a second light-receiving pixel row; a multiplex section for transferring the respective electric charges transferred from the first charge transfer row and second charge transfer row toward an electric-charge/voltage conversion means; and signal generation means for, in case of an alternately-output mode, applying signals in opposite phase to each other to a final stage of the first charge transfer row and a final stage of the second charge transfer row, respectively, and for, in case of an add-and-output mode, applying to the final stage of the second charge transfer row a signal for accumulating the electric charges until a transfer time when the electric charges to be added to each other are transferred by the second charge transfer row comes.
2. A driving method for driving a solid-state image pick-up apparatus, comprising: a first charge transfer row for transferring electric charges acquired by a first light-receiving pixel row; a second charge transfer row for transferring electric charges acquired by a second light-receiving pixel row; and a multiplex section for transferring the respective electric charges, transferred from the first charge transfer row and second charge transfer row toward an electric-charge/voltage conversion means, the driving method being characterized by including the steps of in case of an alternately-output mode, applying signals in opposite phase to each other to a final stage of the first charge transfer row and a final stage of the second charge transfer row, respectively, and in the case of an add-and-output mode, applying to the final stage of the second charge transfer row a signal for accumulating the electric charges until a transfer timing with which the electric charges to be mutually added to each other are transferred by the second charge transfer row comes.
3. An image input apparatus, wherein a solid-state image pick-up apparatus that comprising a first charge transfer row for transferring electric charges acquired by a first light-receiving pixel row, a second charge transfer row that transfers electric charges acquired by a second light-receiving pixel row, a multiplex section for transferring the respective electric charges, transferred from the first charge transfer row and second charge transfer row, toward an electric-charge/voltage conversion means, and signal generation means that in the case of an alternately-output mode, applying signals in opposite phase each other to a final stage of the first charge transfer row and a final stage of the second charge transfer row, respectively, and for, in case of an add-and-output mode, applying to the final stage of the second charge transfer row a signal for accumulating the electric charges until a transfer time when the electric charges to be added to each other are transferred by the second charge transfer row comes is used.
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July 19, 2001
June 1, 2004
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